Senate Health Reform Legislation

As Congress continues to debate changes to our nation’s health care system, the bipartisan National Governors Association (NGA) urges you to ensure that governors are given the opportunity to review, and react to any health care reform legislation.

As Chief Executives of our states, we have an obligation to protect the health and welfare of our citizens. The nation’s governors are ready to work with leaders in Washington to make health care more accessible and affordable to the people we serve. However, governors must be given adequate time to determine the impact any health care bill will have on their states and residents, and ensure that the bill does not adversely harm the people we were elected to serve.

It is critical that any changes to Medicaid and the private health insurance market reflect states’ experience as major health care purchasers, regulators, and administrators who will be responsible for carrying out new reforms.

On behalf of the National Governors Association, we urge you to give states sufficient time to review the legislation before proceeding, so that the full impact of the legislation may be understood and explained to the American people.